Flower Girl Dresses (That Don’t Look Like Mini-Bridal Gowns)

While we’ve rounded up flower girl dresses before. (Remember our tomboy flower girls post that nearly broke the Internet?) But I was recently hit with the real-life revelation that shopping for flower girl dresses is HARD. At least, it’s tricky if you’re in the market for something that isn’t white, and doesn’t look like it hails from a generic wedding ballroom in 1998. (Why some parts of the wedding industry get stuck in the hole time forgot will forever be a mystery to me.)

All that is to say that my two-year-old gets to be a flower girl in a wedding this fall, and I’m super excited about it. I’m delighted for present-day her, who gets to wear a pretty dress and throw flower petals (both are right up her alley). But I’m also excited for future her, who will have pictures of herself as an adorable toddler, wearing a bonkers good dress, with all her little curls piled on top of her head. Because is there anything better than the cutest ever pictures of yourself as a baby? I’d argue no.

However, my powers of denial are strong, which means I’d forgotten what flower girl dresses generally look like. So when I googled “Flower Girl Dresses,” I was hit with a wall of disappointment. And I can’t say Pinterest is much better, unless you’re going for the “mini-bride” version of flower girl style, which, in this case, I’m not.

At that point, even as a professional online researcher, I sat staring at my screen blankly. Should I google “toddler formals”? “Luxury childhood clothing”? Where do you even start looking for a fancy dress for a two-year-old, if the stuff in the flower girl aisle isn’t cute?

So, obviously, Maddie and I hit the ground running researching the best flower girl dresses money can buy. While I’ll spare you the bevy of ridiculous questions we posed to each other (“Is miniature Oscar de la Renta overkill for a two-year-old? How about a swan dress with wings?”), you get to be the beneficiary of our hours of digging, most of it much more sensible than couture swans. Most. We’ve included a range of price options, from super affordable to a few obviously-ridiculous-but-we-can-all-dream-for-a-minute.

We noticed that for the standard out of the big box store flower girl dress price, you can get something that’s amazing/bonkers/a work of art and often ethically made, as long as it’s not labeled flower girl (because $100+ on a toddler dress is actually a lot of money in the real world), so we’ve included those options, along with super cute and wayyyyy more affordable mass market options. (Pro-Tip: Thanks to the current state of retail, those mass market dresses tend to sell out in a hot second. So if you don’t see what you’re looking for below, Macy’s had far and above the best selection out of everyone.)

While I was given the guideline of no tulle for my two-year-old (which obviously killed me a little inside), I’ve imposed no such restrictions on you, so there is plenty of modern feeling tulle. But we’ve also rounded up other styles. I was delighted to learn that apparently you can get adorable formal dresses for small children without tulle (though you’ll still never pull ridiculous children’s clothes from my clutches). We’ve rounded up more traditional flower girl dresses, boho flower girl dresses, modern flower girl dresses, and more.

If you know you’re looking for a white flower girl dress, I couldn’t suggest the selection at BHLDN more strongly. Their team has exceptional taste, and they really curate the best looks. But if white isn’t how your flower girl is rolling, it’s you and me… and a flower girl dress makes three. (And nope, the dress I bought didn’t make this list… but I’ll share a picture of it on its adorable model sometime in October. One must keep a few secrets, right?)

BONUS (because you need them)

Rose Shoulder Bow and Beading Flower Girl Dress via Doloris Petunia ($75o).
Yes, I know it costs almost a grand. But I’m saving this for Blue and Rumi to wear in big and tiny versions, at Bey and Jay’s vow renewal. Beyoncé, do you hear me?

Have any of you solved the riddle of flower girl dresses? Are you on team “SENSIBLE wear it again,” or “damn it, you’re only a flower girl once or twice or so”? (Raises hand for team two.) Bonus points to anyone who leaves us a photo of their flower girl in the comments.

Meg Keene

Founder & Editor-In-Chief

Meg is the Founder of APW, and has been the sites EIC for the past eleven years. She has written two best selling wedding books:A Practical Weddingand A Practical Wedding Planner. Meg’s work has been referenced in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Jezebel, and Refinery29. She’s also written hugely viral wedding articles for Buzzfeed. She lives in Oakland, CA with her husband and two children. For more than you ever wanted to know about Meg, you can visit MegKeene.com.

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